Chris Alden

The New Diplomacy of the South: South Africa, Brazil, India and trilateralism

Abstract In the aftermath of 9/11 surely of great significance is the reassertion of the South – North divide as a defining axis of the international system. In this context the emergence of a coterie of Southern countries actively challenging the position and assumptions of the leading states of the North is an especially significant event. The activism on the part of three middle-income developing countries in particular—South Africa, Brazil and India—has resulted in the creation of a ‘trilateralist’ diplomatic partnership, itself a reflection of broader transformations across the developing world in the wake of globalisation. This article will examine the rise of the co-operative strategy known as ‘trilateralism’ by regional leaders within the South. Specifically it will look at the relationship between emerging regional powers in the context of multilateralism, as well as at the formulation and implementation of trilateralism. As with previous co-operative efforts in the developing world, the prospects of success are rooted in overlapping domestic, regional and international influences on South African, Brazilian and Indian foreign policies. The article will conclude with an assessment of these influences over the trilateral agenda.

A profile of the operations of Chinese multinationals in Africa

The presence of Chinese multinational corporations on the global stage is changing the landscape of international business and politics. Western firms, which once had virtually undisputed command over international resources, are now being challenged by emerging country corporations, particularly from China.

South Africa's economic relations with Africa : hegemony and its discontents

South Africa’s growing economic presence across the African continent has sparked a debate in public and scholarly circles as to its intentions. While some have been quick to see South African business and parastatals as part of a larger hegemonic project pursued by Pretoria, the authors ’ more structured analysis of economic ties with Africa reveals a more complex picture. Institutionalised forms of regional cooperation, such as SACU and SADC, must be contrasted with the activities of South African multinationals and parastatals on the wider African stage to understand the possibilities and limitations of hegemonic practice open to South Africa. Beyond its own region, a key determinant will be its relations with the other leading African power, Nigeria, as well as its ability to compete with other external actors. Finally, the role of ideology is a crucial measure of South African hegemony, and while certainly its ‘ soft power ’ is evident at the societal level, some African elites actively resist the pull of South Africa-based ideas.

Harmony and Discord in China's Africa Strategy: Some Implications for Foreign Policy

This article examines the challenges faced by Beijing in managing this increasingly complex relationship, reflecting upon the structural factors that encourage harmony and introduce discord in China–Africa ties. It examines how various policy solutions being considered by China, ranging from increasing participants in the policy making process to tentative engagement with international development regimes, may still not address the most difficult issues involving adverse reactions to the Chinese presence from African civil societies and political opposition groups. In particular the lack of a strong civil society inside China inhibits the ability of its policy makers to draw on the expertise of the kind of independent pressure groups and NGOs that are available to traditional donor/investor states. The article concludes by asking how the Chinese system can make up for these weaknesses without moving further towards the existing models and practices of the developed countries.

History & identity in the construction of China's Africa policy

One of the most notable features of the forging of Chinas new activist foreign policy towards Africa is its emphasis on the historical context of the relationship. These invocations of the past, stretching back to the 15th century but rife with references to events in the 19th century and the cold war period, are regular features of Chinese diplomacy in Africa. Indeed, it is the persistence of its use and the concurrent claim of a continuity of underlying purpose that marks Chinese foreign policy out from western approaches which have by and large been content to avoid discussions of the past (for obvious reasons) or insisting on any policy continuities. However, beneath the platitudes of solidarity is a reading of Chinese historical relations with Africa emanating from Beijing that is, as any student of contemporary African history will know, at times at odds with the historical record of Chinese involvement on the continent. This article will examine the use and meaning of history in the construction of Chinas Africa policy. It will do so through first, a brief discussion of the relationship between foreign policy, identity and history; second, a survey of Chinese foreign policy towards Africa from 1955 to 1996; third, an analysis of the implications of Beijings approach for its efforts to achieve foreign policy aims regionally and globally.

South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy: from reconciliation to ambiguity?

This article focuses on South Africas rehabilitation from international pariah status during the apartheid years to its de facto status as leader of the African continent. Its ambitious foreign policy agenda and the pan-African revivalism of Mbeki are discussed in the context of the many constraints (the need to attract foreign investment, limited institutional capacity, ambiguities over the nature of South Africas identity) that circumscribe its capacity to achieve these goals. While under Mandela South Africa is portrayed in foreign policy terms as an over-stretched state striving to meet the idealistic demands placed upon it by a fragile world, Mbekis pragmatism and moderation has seen South Africa recast its role in a manner more commensurate with its size and resources. The primary aims of the Mbeki presidency are seen as a reshaping of current international norms, institutions and processes to further global justice for Africa and the South. This paper draws on previous research, which has culminated in an Adelphi Paper of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

South Africa in the company of giants: the search for leadership in a transforming global order

South Africa, the continental economic giant and self-appointed spokesman for African development, is finding its distinctive national voice. Emboldened by the invitation to join the BRICS grouping, its membership of the G20 and a second term on the UN Security Council, Pretoria is beginning to capitalize on the decade of continental and global activism undertaken by Thabo Mbeki to assume a position of leadership. Gone is the defensive posturing which characterized much of the ANCs post-apartheid foreign policy, replaced by an unashamed claim to African leadership. The result is that South Africa is exercising a stronger hand in continental affairs, ranging from a significant contribution to state-building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, to an unprecedented assertiveness on Zimbabwe. But this new assertiveness remains constrained by three factors: the unresolved issue of identity, a host of domestic constraints linked to material capabilities and internal politics, and the divisive continental reaction to South African leadership. These factors continue to inhibit the countrys ability to translate its international ambitions and global recognition into a concrete set of foreign policy achievements.

China’s exceptionalism and the challenges of delivering difference in Africa

This article explores the notion of ‘Chinas exceptionalism’ in Africa, a prominent feature in Beijings current continental and bilateral engagement. ‘Chinas exceptionalism’ is understood as a normative modality of engagement that seeks to structure relations such that, though they may remain asymmetrical in economic content they are nonetheless characterised as equal in terms of recognition of economic gains and political standing (mutual respect and political equality). This article considers the burden that the central Chinese government has assumed through its self-construction and mobilisation of a position of exceptionalism and, concurrently, the imperatives that flow from such rhetorical claims of distinctiveness in terms of demonstrating and delivering difference as a means to sustain the unity and coherence of these rhetorical commitments.

South Africa in Africa: bound to lead?

South Africas role in Africa since its democratic transition has been mired in controversy and characterised by differing interpretations. While it has wrestled ambivalently about constructing an African identity in the Mandela years, President Mbeki has firmly located South Africas interests in Africa. The normative foundations of its Africa engagement with regard to providing public goods and leadership in peace diplomacy, resolving conflicts, and helping to develop the continents institutions collides with the more instrumental aspects relating to investment, its commercial interests and the material sources of its hegemony. These dynamics have been profoundly shaped and determined by South Africas domestic transitional order and its own development imperatives, as well as international role expectations. This article examines these issues and concludes that South Africas future relations with Africa will depend on how it addresses the multiple ambiguities and contradictions of its engagement and pursues a hegemony that is more firmly grounded in meeting the continents development and growth challenges.

The UN and the Resolution of Conflict in Mozambique

The signing of the General Peace Agreement in Rome in October 1992 marked the formal cessation of 17 years of intermittent warfare in the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique. 1 The bitter struggle by the guerrilla movement known as the Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana (Renamo) to topple the avowedly Marxist–Leninist regime established by the leaders of the Frente de Libertcao de Mocambique (Frelimo) was in many respects a regional expression of the cold war politics which dominated the international environment. The transformations in the Soviet Union and South Africa, blunting the ideological and logistical support which had fuelled the conflict, provoked a crisis for the protagonists. With over a million casualties, a greater number of refugees in neighbouring countries, and an economy devastated by war and mismanagement, the Government and Renamo at last sued for peace. 2